My Chronicles of Riddick Part II
by SoAJic
Summary: Riddick is confronted by someone from his past, Jack is confronted by her surprising feelings for Riddick, Carolyn is lured into a dangerous web of deceit. COMPLETE. RR please
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
  
Riddick's eyes shot open suddenly. The room was dark around him and a gentle breeze blew in from the open window. He peered around the room. He wasn't sure what he was searching or if anything was even there at all. It might have just been the breeze blowing across his bare chest.  
  
"Riddick,"  
  
Riddick looked down at the mop of blond hair on the pillow next to him. He hadn't meant to wake her up.  
  
"Riddick, what is it?" Xil sat up in the large bed and pulled the silky white sheet around her. She looked around the darkened room but saw nothing. "Riddick,"  
  
"Nothing." He shook his head. "Go back to sleep."  
  
Xil laid back down. From her position on her pillow all she could see was Riddick's back. His muscles were tense. "Riddick,"  
  
"Said go back to sleep." Riddick pushed the sheet off of his lower half and planted his bare feet on the floor. He left the small bedroom that he had shared with Xil for the past six months and made his way into the stale hallway that lead to the rest of the house. He took a few steps and stopped in front of the door to Jack's room. He opened it and poked his head inside. She was sleeping soundly.  
  
He continued on down the hall and checked out the rest of the house. There was nobody there. He went back to bed.  
  
"Satisfied now?" Xil was still awake.  
  
"No." As he laid down again he eyed his goggles. They were hanging from the split wood of the bedpost. The sun wouldn't be up for hours, but he needed to know they were close by, just incase.  
  
"What woke you?"  
  
"Don't know. Thought I heard something. Could have just been a dream." Riddick adjusted himself under the sheet. Even though there was a breeze coming in through the window he still felt hot and his skin glistened with sweat in the little light that the three moons provided.  
  
"Again?"  
  
He rolled away from her onto his side and stared out the window at the moons. Each time he saw them he was reminded of the three suns that had illuminated that planet. He had come to New Mecca to escape his past life but everyday there was a constant reminder of it staring at him through his bedroom window. "Don't give me that shit." He grabbed his dusty gray sweat pants from the floor and stepped into them. "I can be as fucking paranoid as I wanna be. You sure didn't have any complaints about my senses when we were at the canyon and I was saving your god damn life. You wouldn't be here is it wasn't for me. So do not give me that tone." he snatched his goggles from the bed post and stalked off.  
  
"Yeah and you wouldn't fucking be here if it wasn't for me! I'm one up on you Riddick." Xil yelled at his back.  
  
Riddick felt her eyes burning a hole into his as he kept walking and left the house.  
  
He found himself sitting on the front porch. Xil really was one point ahead of him in their whole little game of 'life'. He had saved them all at the canyon on that planet, then again from the merc, Peter Johns, even though both of those did turn out to require his own life being saved,.  
  
He looked up at the three moons. Life wasn't exactly working out the way he had planned. Life on New Mecca was easy though. He held a job for the first time in his life, it didn't pay much, but gave him a sense of honesty, and allowed him to earn enough credits to help provide for Jack. His job wasn't much, he was a janitor at a synagogue in the small Muslim town. He swept the floors, cleaned the alter, and took care of any sort of maintenance that was required.  
  
He heard Xil behind him but didn't acknowledge her presence.  
  
She stood quietly in the doorway watching him. Her eyes roamed over his back. It was scarred with a long reminder of how things could have been. And his side had an even larger reminder of how close he had come to death, twice.  
  
"Just gonna sit out here all night?" She asked when she realized he know that she was there.  
  
Riddick still didn't turn around. "If I chose. Go back to bed."  
  
Xil sighed. "This routine is getting a little old." She sat down next to him and rubbed his back, her hand grazing over the scars on his body.  
  
"Nice to know." He shrugged her off and stood up. He went back into the house into their bedroom, Xil quick on his heals. He grabbed a dirty shirt from the floor and slipped it on. Then he sat on the bed and pulled on his heavy boots. Once they were laced he slipped his goggles over his eyes and started to leave again.  
  
"Riddick would you stop being a bastard and talk to me for a minute? You owe me that much at least."  
  
"Don't owe you shit." Riddick left the house and walked out into the desert sand. He had to decide where he was going, the tiny Muslim town where he worked, or the large city that he usually avoided. 


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Riddick had been walking for a while before he came to a stop in from of a pink neon lit sign that read 'hotel'. He looked up at it as if he was contemplating something. He thought about Jack, sleeping nice and warm in her bed, and then about Xil, probably still fuming from their argument for a second and then pushed them out of his head and walked into the office.  
  
"Need a room?" The stout man behind the desk asked. He opened his registrar with a smile.  
  
Riddick nodded.  
  
"Name?"  
  
"Richard B. Riddick."  
  
The man wrote Riddick's name down in the book. "Think we got a room for you. Hundred credits."  
  
Riddick whipped out his billfold. He had one hundred and fifty credits to his name and knew if he spent one hundred on 'a room' then they would end up falling on hard times. What should he care though? He could survive. Since when did he care about everyone else so much? He handed over the credits.  
  
"Got any requests?" The man took the credits and slid them into a draw under the desk.  
  
Riddick nodded. "No objections."  
  
The man cocked an eyebrow at him. "So you're one of those types, eh?" He handed him an old fashioned key. "143, left of the lobby, up the stairs, first on the right."  
  
Riddick took the key and left the lobby. He walked up the flight of stairs and let himself into the room. Everything was illuminated with red over head lights. "Fuckin' cheesy." He closed the door behind him and tossed the key onto the side table. He sat down on the bed and relaxed a little against the pillows, watching the door. He stretched and let out a small yawn, then shook himself awake. This wasn't the time to be falling asleep.  
  
The door opened a crack and a young woman poked her head inside. "Richard Riddick?"  
  
Riddick acknowledged her. "Took you long enough. Get in here." He pulled himself into somewhat of a seated position with his back resting against the headboard.  
  
The young woman sashayed in in a skimpy little see through get up, running her hands over various parts of her body, trying to entice Riddick.  
  
He licked his lips and ran his hand across his mouth, wiping away his slobber.  
  
The woman noticed but said nothing. She continued on her approach over to the bed and crawled up between his legs. She ran her hands up his body and a deep animalistic groan escaped him. She was startled by the sounds leaving his throat and her hands fumbled when she reached for the hem of his shirt to pull it off. She clutched it tightly in her hands and lifted it over his head. Her movements ceased when she saw the thick red raised scars on his side.  
  
Riddick shot her a glare through his goggles, but kept quiet about her rudeness. He stared at the shock on her face for a minute before he gestured with a wave of his hand for her to continue.  
  
She started placing feather light kisses all over his chest, then worked her way up to his neck, then his cheeks, purposely avoiding his drooling mouth.  
  
Riddick sighed. He had to admit that the physical feeling was good. But knowing that he had paid for it and the woman was disgusted with him made him feel guilty for not holding onto the measly amount of credits he had had.  
  
She moved her hands up to his face and ran her fingers over the black elastic of his tinted goggles. "How about we take these things off you?" she hooked her fingers underneath the elastic and went to lift the goggles from his eyes, but he stopped her. He quickly caught both of her wrists in one of his large hands.  
  
"Dim the lights first."  
  
"Lights to full dim." she projected her voice loud enough for the sensor on the lights to hear and dark blue shadows fell across the room.  
  
He let go of her wrists, but he didn't let her remove his goggles. He did it himself.  
  
She gasped when she caught sight of his eyes. "What the hell are you? Some kind of monster?" She backed off of the bed and towards the door.  
  
Riddick stood up. "Get over here." His voice was low and raspy. "I paid for you, so come back and do your job." He started walking towards her and grabbed her around the waist before she could reach the door. He pulled her back over to the bed and ripped off her lacey revealing hanky before laying himself on top of her.  
  
"What are you?" She was shaking as he let his weight fall heavy on her and his eyes stare into her, full of rage.  
  
"You refer to me as a 'what' one more time and I'll slit your fucking throat. Don't be so high and mighty, people are people. And you ain't too great yourself." He drew his shiv and held it to her neck. "Now you can be a good girl and give me what I paid for, or I can take it. And believe me, you don't want me to take it. Your choice. Choose wisely." 


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3  
  
"Been out all night?" Jack asked when Riddick came in the house and into the kitchen. The sun was just beginning to come up and she was sitting at the little table eating some toast.  
  
"Kid, your business, mind it." Riddick pulled his goggles off of his head and tossed them onto the counter. He rinsed the blood off of his shiv at the sink before sitting down across from Jack. He reached over and grabbed a piece of toast off of her plate.  
  
Jack huffed. "You could make your own, you know." She looked at him curiously, noticing something on his face. "Lights on." The over head lights turned on.  
  
Riddick's eyes squeezed shut and he brought a hand up to cover them. "Fuck, kid. What the hell are you trying to do? Kill me? Lights full dim."  
  
"Lights on."  
  
"Jack, I'm not kidding." Riddick stood up blindly and pawed around the counter for his goggles. When he found them he slipped them back over his eyes. "What the hell's your problem?" He folded his arms across his chest, revealing more of what Jack had noticed on his face on his arms, and rested against the counter waiting for Jack to explain herself.  
  
She shrugged. "Heard you and Xil up last night."  
  
He rolled his eyes behind his goggles. "So now you're taking sides and trying to kill me with the fucking lights? Mature. Thought I taught you better than that kid, at least shiv me if you want me ghosted."  
  
"She give you all those scratches?"  
  
"Nope, those would be the handy work of someone else, kid. Like Xil would ever do some shit like that."  
  
"Wish she would have." Jack mumbled.  
  
"What'd you say?"  
  
"Nothing." She finished her toast and pushed in her chair. "See you when I get back."  
  
Riddick had heard exactly what she had said, but let her leave anyway. He'd ask her about it later. He took a long gaze out of the window, the sun wasn't completely up yet, so he'd still have a few hours to get some sleep before he had to get up for work. He yawned on his way back to bed. He kicked off his boots at the foot of the bed before getting in.  
  
"You smell like sex." Xil was still awake and she didn't seem pleased.  
  
"Problem?"  
  
"We've been through this before. If you're gonna go out and have sex with other women, then you're not gonna sleep in my bed when you come back."  
  
Riddick rolled over to face her and propped himself up on his elbow. "Your bed? I pay for half of everything in this house, Xil. So half the bed is mine. And if I made more money I wouldn't fuckin' be sleeping with you to begin with."  
  
Xil looked at the scratches on his face and arms. "Force yourself on yet another woman?"  
  
He shook his head "Nope, prostitute."  
  
"So now you're out paying for sex when you know money's tight. Why are you going out and paying for it when you know I would give it to you?"  
  
Riddick threw his head back and laughed. "You'd give it to me? If I wanted it from you I'd just take it. You think that little thing between us meant something to me? Xil, Xil, Xil...I told you before. I fucked you, I got what I wanted, and that was the end of it. There ain't nothing between us. Couldn't never be, I don't--"  
  
"Then what the fuck are you still here for? You wouldn't be if there wasn't something there, you wouldn't be laying next to me every night." Xil rolled out of the bed and stood over him with her hands on her hips. She was one pissed off woman.  
  
"You think I give a shit about you?" Riddick stood on his knees on the bed and started at Xil. "I'm here for the kid. I don't give a fuck about you." His tone was even, irritating.  
  
Xil had had enough. He had been nothing but a total bastard for the past few months and she was fed up. She flung herself at him and tackled him back down onto the bed. She straddled him and slapped him hard across the face.  
  
Riddick cocked an eyebrow at her. "You done? Or you want to get a few more hits in before I take control of this situation."  
  
"Before you take control?!" Xil's hand clutched into a fist and came down hard against Riddick's cheek.  
  
"You might want to stop." He didn't seem phased by the fact that he had just been punched.  
  
"Fuck you Riddick." Xil hit him again. And again. And again. She punched him in any place she could.  
  
"I'm letting you have your moment Xil."  
  
Her fists began to slow. She was still angry but the fact that she was out of breath was getting the best of her.  
  
"Done?"  
  
Xil rolled off of him and sighed.  
  
"I'll take that as a yes." Riddick was up in a flash, his body on top of her, holding her down on the bed. "You didn't think I'd just let you keep taking swats at me without having some sort of retaliation in mind, did you?" He grabbed a hold of her wrists and held them above her head while he sniffed her hair and her neck. "So you'd give it to me?" He grinded his crotch against hers.  
  
Xil knew he was just fucking with her. He had made it perfectly clear that he had no interest in her at all. This was just something else he could use to his advantage, right? But why was she beginning to feel something hard against her thigh? "Is that what you want?"  
  
"You didn't answer me." Riddick lifted his goggles and sat them on the pillow next to them. He looked at her, letting the humor he found in the situation show in his milky purple shined eyes, they'd been in this position before.  
  
"Yes. If you give me control." She waited for his answer, hoping to all that was holy on this planet he would agree. She had a plan. She'd get him right where she wanted him. . . then leave him there.  
  
"Done." As soon as the words left Riddick's mouth he found himself on his back with Xil straddling his lap again.  
  
"Have to make sure you don't change your mind." She slipped his shirt over his head and used it to tie his hands to the headboard.  
  
"If I can escape chains and cuffs, what makes you think this shirt's gonna hold me?"  
  
"You wont want to escape." she scooted down his body so that she was straddling his knees and began work on undoing his pants.  
  
"What? No foreplay?"  
  
Xil sighed. Foreplay, yeah right. She was getting right to the point, having Riddick painfully hard, restrained, and begging. "You want foreplay, Richard?"  
  
Riddick didn't like the way his name sounded leaving her lips. She was up to something. He shrugged. "Sure."  
  
She snaked her tongue around his bellybutton then up his chest, taking one his nipples into her mouth. She was sure she heard him moan, so she stopped and moved up to his neck. "Foreplay." She sucked at a patch of skin below his ear until she was sure that the blood had risen to the surface. She kissed his chin, ignoring the drool that ran from the side of his mouth, and then finally his lips.  
  
Alarms sounded in Riddick's head and suddenly this wasn't a game anymore. It all became very real as soon as her lips touched his, right when she over looked his slobber. He turned his head away from her. "Xil,"  
  
She looked at him but couldn't read his expression with his eyes closed. "What?"  
  
"Untie me. This isn't--"  
  
"Fuck no, I'm not untying you for shit."  
  
Riddick sighed. "Fine." He gave the shirt a hard tug and it ripped from the headboard. As he sat up Xil slipped off of him.  
  
She watched him as he swung his legs off the bed and planet his feet on the floor, but he didn't stand up. He finished pulling the remains of the shirt from around his wrists and ran a hand over his head. "This cant be a game anymore."  
  
"You made it a game."  
  
"Okay, and now I'm saying it cant be anymore." He turned around and looked at her. "I'm taking control of this situation again. Come here."  
  
Xil obeyed, not sure what Riddick wanted from her, hopefully it was what she wanted from him though. She scooted over to him, "Riddick,"  
  
He shook his head and put a finger to her lips to quiet her. "Talking's bad, remember?" He lifted her shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor.  
  
"Riddick," she started again.  
  
"No talking, just doing. Shh. . ." He wiped his chin before he kissed her again, soft but demanding. He laid her down on the bed. His lips trailed across her cheek and down her neck. He supported his weight on arm and stroked his free hand down her shoulder to her breast. "Nice." His hand progressed to the juncture of Xil's thighs and stroked her slowly through her pajama bottoms.  
  
"Don't tease."  
  
"What? You don't like my foreplay Xil?"  
  
"Just get to the point, Riddick."  
  
Riddick continued teasing her. "Why rush?" He replaced his mouth on her neck for a brief moment. "Why rush at all?"  
  
Xil ran her hand down his arm until it was touching the back of his. She took it and slid it inside of her pants.  
  
"Fine." Riddick knelt above her on the bed and removed his pants. Then he removed hers. "No foreplay. Straight to the point." He sank into her slowly, giving her a chance to get used to his size. He was still for a moment before he began a slow pace.  
  
She grasped the back of his neck and brought his lips to hers, forcing her tongue into his mouth for the first time. There was a thick raised scar of either side of the inside of his cheek.  
  
It wasn't long before they were both nearing their peak. Riddick buried his face in Xil's neck, she knew he was almost there.  
  
"Riddick," she murmured his name softly and ran her hand over the back of his head. "Riddick, look at me. I need you to look at me." Part of her was afraid that she would see the same animal in his eyes as she had six months ago, but when he lifted his head and their eyes locked, the animal was no where to be seen. . . and neither was Riddick.  
  
Riddick, the vicious murderer, was nowhere to be found. Instead Xil saw someone else, someone caring, loving, gentle. Xil saw Richard for the first time.  
  
Riddick kept his eyes locked on hers as he came, his body shaking, sweat glistening from his forehead. The feeling of his release was enough to send Xil over the edge. He collapsed on top of her, head again buried in her neck. She let her fingers lazily trace over the scars on his back while he caught his breath.  
  
Riddick rolled off of her and laid on his back, staring at the ceiling, with his arms folded across his chest. His face unreadable.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
"You think I'm a monster?"  
  
Xil laid her head on his chest. She ran a hand over his the patch of hair below his navel. "Why would you ask that?"  
  
"I killed her. I paid for her and she wouldn't do it. Looked at me like I was slime, called me a monster and refused to do what I had paid for. So I gave her two choices, course she picked the wrong one."  
  
Xil knew he was talking about the prostitute. How could a comment made by a cheap whore manage to get under Riddick's skin so much?  
  
"Times have changed. I ain't killed nobody since, well, you know. I'm living here with you and the kid, and I'm a fuckin' janitor." He snatched his goggles off of the pillow and slipped them on before his emotions could get the best of him. "I ain't worth shit no more Xil. This ain't how my life's supposed to be." He stood up and put his pants back on, then grabbed a clean shirt out of the dresser. Once he had put it on he turned back to Xil. "Listen, tell the kid I'll see her around." 


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
  
Jack sped down the sand covered street on her bicycle, flinging out the morning newspaper to the houses on her route. She dragged her foot on the ground to slow herself down as she approached the last house on her route.  
  
There was a man sitting on the porch of the old house, rocking in his rocking chair. "Morning Jack."  
  
"Morning Mr. Burton. Got your paper." Jack hopped off her bike and ran up the few steps to the front porch and handed the old man his newspaper. She sat down on the last step and looked across the street.  
  
"You're early this morning Jack."  
  
"Yeah. I was woken up early. Riddick's in one of his moods." She replied, her gaze fixed on the man in the yard across the street. The house had been empty for as long as Jack had been delivering papers down this street. "He was up before the sun, barking at Xil about something."  
  
Mr. Burton flipped through his paper lazily. He always enjoyed his talks with Jack more than whatever was in the news. "Just give the man some space. I'm sure he'll get over whatever it was. He seems like the reasonable type."  
  
"When he wants to be."  
  
"I'm sure you're the same way, reasonable when you want to be. And I'm sure him being cooped up with you isn't any picnic either. This isn't his way of life, so let him bark if that's what he needs."  
  
Jack was listening to Mr. Burton but the man across the street still had the majority of her attention. "He gonna be takin' the paper?" She gestured to the man  
  
The man noticed them watching him. He gave them a slight wave and tried to look friendly as began pulling weeds in his yard.  
  
"Dunno. He doesn't seem much the type for the news. Hear he's out here looking for someone."  
  
"Is he a me--"  
  
"He's no merc. He ain't after your Riddick." Mr. Burton assured her. He knew everything about Riddick and his past, Jack trusted him enough to talk to him about anything. "The Misses heard he's been in Slam. That's how I know he's no merc. What his deal is I don't know though, we'll find out in time though. Types like him don't blend in well around these parts." He stood up and tucked his newspaper under his arm.  
  
"Yeah." Jack relaxed a little and nodded.  
  
"Come on in the house and get some of this food that the Misses made. Take some home to your Riddick. I'm sure he eats like a horse. Every time I see him coming down the street on his way to work it looks like he's packed more muscle onto that body of his, so I'm sure getting a little more to eat won't hurt him." 


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5  
  
"Riddick!" Jack called as she came into the house. "Mr. Burton gave me some thing to bring you. Said you could eat more." She set the container of food down on the table and poked her head out into the hallway. "Riddick!!"  
  
Xil came out of the bedroom and down the hall. "He left."  
  
"Oh well, I'll just put it in the fridge for him till he gets back."  
  
Xil sat down at the table, shaking her head. "He's not coming back."  
  
Jack froze, "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean he left for good, he's getting a transport and he's not coming back."  
  
Jack was out of the house in an instant and back on her bike, pedaling as fast as she could, on her way to the docking bay. When she got down to the docking bay she spotted Riddick already in line for a transport, bag slung over his shoulders, pass in hand, but something about him was different.  
  
Riddick knew she was there. He could feel her. "What are you doing here, kid?"  
  
Jack jumped off of her bike and let it fall to the ground. "Why are you leaving?!"  
  
He didn't turn to face her, he kept his place in line, eyes forward.  
  
"Riddick!" Jack came up behind him, pushing past people. She grabbed his shoulder and spun him around to face her. Something was really different. He had on a pair of baggy dusty blue jeans, a black zippered fleece shirt, zipped up to his neck, an army green colored jacket and. . . sunglasses?  
  
"Don't throw a temper tantrum out here in the middle of all these people. Go home, kid."  
  
"No! Why the fuck are you leaving? Shit, if its cause of this morning with the lights then I'm sorry."  
  
Riddick shook his head. "This ain't got nothing to do with you. Its between me and Xil."  
  
Jack looked at him closer, she noticed more on his face than the scratches she had seen earlier that morning. A dark green bruise stood out in contrast of his bronze colored skin. "Gonna assume Xil gave you that one?" she gestured at his jaw.  
  
"Good assumption." He licked his lips.  
  
"So cause she hit you you're takin' off? Chances are you probably said something dick-headed or sexiest and you deserved to be hit."  
  
"Keep talking to me like that and you're gonna get a good poppin' yourself"  
  
Jack challenged him, "Go for it, dick-head." She took a few steps back and waited for Riddick to come after her.  
  
He smiled at her and shoved one his large hands into his pockets. "Not gonna work this time kid. You ain't gonna make me chase you. And I know you don't think I'm a dick-head. And if you do, then you only mean it with the utmost love and respect."  
  
"Riddick. . ." Jack hated to admit it to herself, but she was going to have to be reduced to begging. "Please just stay. Whatever's going on with you two you can work out. Or at least ignore it like you always do. But you cant just take off and peace me out like this."  
  
"I'll write you a letter from wherever I end up."  
  
The line started to move and soon it was Riddick's turn to board.  
  
"Don't do this Riddick." Jack was near tears but she didn't care if he saw her cry or not.  
  
Riddick sighed and pulled his hand out of his pocket. He was clutching something. "Give this to Xil, okay?" He handed the piece of paper to Jack. "Don't go peeking at it either." She took the paper from him and put it in her back pocket. He started to walk up the hatchway to the ship but the stopped. He turned around and looked at her. "Come here." Jack walked over to him slowly and was surprised when he knelt down and pulled her into a hug. "Don't go letting that temper get the best of you, okay?"  
  
Jack nodded and buried her face in his neck. Her tears were soaking through his jacket. "You should take your own advice." She managed a small smile and he smiled back.  
  
He reached inside his jacket pocket and pulled out his goggles and handed them to her, but she rejected them. "Take 'em. I'm trying out this whole sunglasses thing. Makes me look a little more normal, don't you think?"  
  
Jack shrugged but accepted his gift to her. She hugged him again, she didn't want him to go, or let her go either for that matter. She continued crying. "Take me with you."  
  
Riddick shook his head. "Stay out of trouble, watch your mouth, remember everything I taught you." He pulled out of the hug, stood up, and boarded the ship, not once taking a second glace back at Jack. 


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6  
  
Jack slumped into the house. Xil was sitting at the kitchen table with her arms folded on the table and her head lying against them. It was obvious that she was upset with Riddick's departure.  
  
"Riddick wanted me to give you this." Jack reached into her back pocket and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper that Riddick had given her, then went to her room, door slamming as it closed.  
  
Xil sighed and unfolded the piece of paper. She was surprised to find that it was a note from Riddick. She read it.  
  
Xil,  
  
Contrary to popular belief I can read and write. It just ain't something I do often. Sorry I took off the way I did. Sometimes some things just got to be done. I care about you. That's why I left. You scared the hell out of me when you kissed me. This morning, making love to you, was the best morning of my life. I wanted to say something to you then but I ain't real good at that whole emotion thing so I figured it was better if I didn't, but I love you Xil. Have from the moment you told me to show you my eyes. I know I put my foot in my mouth when I gave you all that bullshit about not giving a damn about you but I care about you and Jack more than I ever have about anything else. And I ain't quite sure I that that's a good thing, which is why I left. Better off without me being round. I ain't too far off though. Keep the kid on a short leash, rebellious as hell, but at least not as bad as I was at her age, don't want her to get that way either.  
  
Richard B. Riddick  
  
Xil stood up from the table, walked down the hall to Jack's room and knocked on the door. She didn't wait for her to answer she opened it and went in. "Where was he headed?"  
  
Jack shook her head. "I don't know. By the time I got there he was already in line for the transport, had his pass and everything."  
  
Xil crumpled the note in her hand and sighed. "That bastard, that fucking bastard." she paced the doorway and sighed again. "Jack, I don't know what to do. We needed the credits he made. We cant afford the rent on the house now. But, does he care about shit like that? No, of course not. Something freaks him out and he takes off, always thinking about himself, doesn't care about how anyone else feels. Guess some things never change, huh? The only person he was thinking about when he was on that skiff was himself, and now still the only person he's thinking about is himself. Strong survival instinct my ass."  
  
Jack looked up at her from her bed. "What do you mean? About the skiff?"  
  
Xil sat down next to Jack. She wasn't sure if this would be the most opportune time to tell Jack that Riddick hadn't had any intentions of coming back for them when they had been on that planet. She knew it was probably something that girl didn't need to hear about her hero, but with how pissed off she with Riddick she didn't frankly care.  
  
"When I got down to the skiff, he was about to take off. He was gonna leave us Jack. He was gonna leave us out there to die." Xil stood up and paced the room again.  
  
"Bullshit! Riddick wouldn't do that!" Jack couldn't believe Xil. She didn't want to believe something like that about Riddick, even if it was true.  
  
"Riddick would do anything necessary to save his own ass, he doesn't give a shit about anyone else, including you and me!" Xil crumpled up Riddick's note even further and threw it on the floor. It was only bullshit anyway, an excuse to leave. She left the room and slammed the door behind her.  
  
Jack sighed. She didn't know who to believe or even believe in anymore. Her gaze fixed itself on the crumpled piece of paper on the floor, curious as to what Riddick could have said that had made Xil so angry, angry enough to make up lies about him. He wouldn't have left them on that planet in that cave to die. She knelt down and picked up the piece of paper, smoothing it out against her bed. She strained her eyes trying to make out the words through the smudgy pencil and bad handwriting. As she read her eyes welled up with tears. 


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7  
  
Jack pedaled down the street on her bike as fast as her legs would take her. She stopped at Mr. Burton's house, hopped off and ran up the stairs to the front porch.  
  
"Mr. Burton?!" She knocked hard on the door. "Mr. Burton, are you home? I need to talk to you!"  
  
Mr. Burton opened the door and looked down at Jack. He could tell she had been crying. "What's the matter?"  
  
"Riddick. He left. He's in love with Xil, and he got a fuckin' transport and left." Jack pushed into the house and sat down in a giant arm chair, crying again.  
  
Mr. Burton frowned at Jack's language, but came and knelt down in front of her, shaking his head. "You more upset that he left or that he feels something for Xil and not you?"  
  
Jack's eyes shot up at him, if looks could kill then he blue eyes would have shot daggers at Mr. Burton right at that instant. A scowl set on her face. "Just because I like doesn't mean I don't get the fact that he's like twice my age and I don't have an ice cube's chance in hell with him. Shoulda never even told you that I liked him like that anyway."  
  
"I knew before you told me." He sighed. "You cant be mad at him for having adult feelings for someone. And from how it seems to me, it was just a matter of time before he figured out what he felt about her."  
  
"Fuck adult feelings, he's not supposed to feel anything at all!"  
  
Mrs. Burton poked her head out of the kitchen and looked at Mr. Burton, her face full of disapproval over Jack's mouth. Mr. Burton opened his mouth to scold Jack about her use of the 'F' word, but was interrupted by a soft knock on the door.  
  
Mrs. Burton came out of the kitchen to answer the door. "May I help you?"  
  
"Umm, yeah, I just moved in across the street there," the man gestured across the road to his house, "And I was wondering if I could borrow some coffee?"  
  
"Sure you can, come on in." Mrs. Burton opened the door a little wider so the man could step inside. "I'm Mrs. Burton and this is my husband, Mr. Burton." She nodded towards Mr. Burton who was still talking with Jack.  
  
The man looked at Jack curiously.  
  
"Got a staring problem?" Jack glared at him, arms folded across her chest, the same way Riddick did.  
  
"And this one here with the mouth like a sailor would be Jack." Mrs. Burton sighed. She had gotten used to Jack's behavior. What more could you expect from a run away who had spent the last half a year living with a man who had spent the majority of his life in Slam?  
  
"I'm Krisp. My friends call me Sweets though." He shook hands with Mrs. Burton, but kept his eyes on Jack, thinking her to be somewhat odd.  
  
"Wanna keep those eyes to yourself? I'd hate to have to deck you on. I ain't having a good day and I wouldn't think twice about giving you two black eyes." Jack huffed, arms still folded across her chest. She didn't like this guy, not one bit.  
  
"Little spit fire of a grandson you got there." Sweets laughed.  
  
"I ain't no boy. One hundred percent female. And I'm not their granddaughter." Jack really didn't like this guy.  
  
Sweets took a closer look at Jack. He should have seen that she was a girl. A little slow in developing in some areas, but she was getting there. He licked his lips and smiled at her. "My mistake."  
  
"Damn straight."  
  
Mr. Burton gave Jack a look of disapproval as Mrs. Burton ushered Sweets into the kitchen.  
  
"Would you like the coffee to take home, or would you prefer I made you a cup." Mrs. Burton asked.  
  
"Well, if its not too much trouble for you to make some then I'll take you up on that offer. I haven't totally unpacked yet, I know my coffee pot's in a box somewhere, I'm just not sure where." Sweets replied. He pulled out a chair at the hand crafted cherry wood table and sat down. He could hear Jack in the living talking with Mr. Burton.  
  
"He wouldn't take me with him. I just wanted him to take me with him. That bastard." Jack uncrossed her arms and sighed.  
  
Mr. Burton patted her on the arm, "Jack, if you want to talk to me about Riddick then you're going to have to cut back on the fowl language."  
  
Sweets' ears perked up at the mention of Riddick, and Mrs. Burton noticed. "Riddick? Richard B. Riddick?" he asked, his eyes dancing, mouth salivating.  
  
Mrs. Burton looked at him curiously. "Yes, Jack lives with him. Or lived with him. I heard her tell Mr. Burton that he got a transport off of the planet today. But knowing how much he cares for the girl and his lady friend, he likely wont be gone long." Mrs. Burton was always one for gossip and shooting her mouth off when it really wasn't needed.  
  
"Oh really?" Sweets smirked, "I heard he was out here. Hmm. . ."  
  
"You know Richard?" Mrs. Burton asked.  
  
He nodded. "Yup, met him years ago. He was just a young boy then. Couldn't have been no more than twenty or so."  
  
"Where'd you manage to meet someone like him?"  
  
"Slam."  
  
Mrs. Burton nodded. She had already known that Sweets had been in Slam. She set a cup of coffee down in front of him. "Hope you enjoy it."  
  
Sweets gave her a grateful nod and took his cup of coffee out into the living room and sat down on the couch across from Jack.  
  
Jack looked at him, he really rubbed her the wrong way. "Don't burn yourself with that."  
  
"I'll make sure I'm careful." He took a sip of his coffee. "So you know Riddick, huh?"  
  
"What's it to you?"  
  
"Jack, be nice. He knows Richard." Mrs. Burton informed her from the kitchen where she was tidying up. "He's been in Slam too."  
  
"What were you in for?" Jack asked him.  
  
Sweets sighed and took another long sip of his coffee. "Robbery. Stole half a mill. Wasn't something I was proud of. Turned myself in. Got a few years for it." He smiled at her and let his gaze wander over her body.  
  
Jack shifted uncomfortably. What was up with this guy?  
  
There was a knock at the door again. This time Mr. Burton answered it. "You must be looking' for Jack." He opened the door wider and let Xil in. "I'm sorry to hear about you and Riddick."  
  
Xil shook her head. She didn't even want to think about Riddick anymore. "Time to go Jack. I got to get to work. Cant afford to not be there, literally."  
  
Sweets stood up and placed his cup of coffee on the small end table. He smiled at Xil.  
  
"Oh, sorry." She turned to Mr. Burton, "I didn't know you had company."  
  
Sweets extended his hand to Xil, "I'm Mr. Krisp. You can call me Sweets if you'd prefer. I just moved in next door. Nice to meet you."  
  
Xil shook his hand, "Xil Reluct."  
  
"Well it is a pleasure to meet you Xil." he suavely kissed the back of her hand.  
  
Xil pulled her hand away and turned back to Jack. "Come on, we have to go."  
  
Jack stood up and smoothed out her dirty green shorts. She brushed past Xil, got on her bike and sped off for home. Xil walked outside and started down the sand covered street. She hadn't gotten far when she felt a hand grab her arm, she whirled around.  
  
"Didn't mean to scare you." Sweets grinned at her and licked his lips. Nice catch. "I don't know many people around here. Actually I only know the Burtons and you and Jack. So I was wondering if you'd like to join me for dinner in the city some times. I don't want to look ridiculous eating in a restaurant by myself."  
  
Xil shook her head. "I don't know, I just got out of a relationship about three hours ago and I'm kind of--"  
  
"Just as friends."  
  
"I guess it wouldn't hurt." she needed something or someone to get her mind off of Riddick and this Sweets fellow might just do the trick. "I work most of the afternoon. I'm off at eight though. So how about around nine we get together?"  
  
"Nine sounds good to me. Umm. . . where should I pick you up at? Where do you live?"  
  
"Only house past the fork. You cant miss it."  
  
"Okay. Nine o'clock, past the fork. I'll see you tomorrow then." He turned on his heels and headed towards his house, not able to keep the sly smile from spreading across his face. She bought it. They had all bought it. Oh he was good. 


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8  
  
Jack was staring out the window. That Sweets character would be there to pick up Xil any minute and she wanted to be ready for him. Drill him with questions as soon as he stepped into the house. Shiv him in the back if anything he said didn't seem to add up to her. Something was up with this guy. She wasn't stupid.  
  
She watched as he pulled up in what seemed to be a very expensive hovercraft. Most of the people on New Mecca could barely afford old fashioned automobiles, and here was this guy with a hover craft. That's a bank robber for you.  
  
Sweets walked up to the door and raised his fist to knock, but the door opened before he got the chance. "Hi." he greeted Jack with a smile. She was really starting to hate the way he smiled.  
  
She let him inside and closed the door, discretely making sure her shiv was handy. "So, Xil will be out in a little bit. She's getting changed and stuff." She gestured over to the couch. "Have a seat buddy."  
  
Sweets sat down on the pink floral print couch. He looked at Jack. Interesting kid. Might be smarter than she looks. "Jack is it?"  
  
She nodded. "Yeah, name's Jack."  
  
"Odd name for a young girl."  
  
"I'm almost fifteen. And what the hell kind of a name is Sweets?" Jack walked into the kitchen. Trying to use a trick that Riddick taught her, she kept herself out of his gaze, but was more than able to see him.  
  
Sweets stood up and looked around the living room. It was dimly light with bare walls. Not a single picture of any sort of decorative item. "I like candy. It's why everybody calls me Sweets."  
  
She accepted his answer. It made sense. She flopped down at the kitchen table when she heard Xil emerge from her bedroom.  
  
"Sorry I took so long." Xil told Sweets. He was still standing around, eyes squinting to see in the dim light. "Oh, sorry about the lights. Lights on." The light flickered to full.  
  
"Lights full dim!" Jack called out. The lights dimmed again.  
  
"Jack, leave the lights alone. Lights on." Xil looked into the kitchen and at Jack.  
  
Jack grabbed a slice of bread out of the bread box. "Just because he isn't here doesn't mean you have to totally change everything. Lights full dim."  
  
Xil sighed. She knew Jack was still upset about Riddick leaving, she probably would be for a long time. "Fine Jack, keep the lights dimmed. I don't care." She placed her hand on Sweets shoulder, "Ready to go?"  
  
Sweets nodded and they headed out the door. 


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9  
  
Sweets gently pressed his lips to Xil's; he didn't want her to pull away. All the previous times he had tried to kiss her she had pulled away, giving him some lame excuse. They had been seeing each other as more than friends for quite some time, friendship never really being Sweets' plan in the first place. He was sure he had her this time, fully kissing her, having her kiss him back.  
  
He caught Jack staring at him from the kitchen. She still didn't like him and was always very suspicious of his motives. And of course, he knew it. He knew she knew there was more to him than he was telling. So he kept his guard high around the girl.  
  
"How about we take this to the bedroom?" Sweets suggested to Xil. She agreed and he picked her up in his arms and carried her to the bedroom.  
  
Jack came out of the kitchen. She couldn't believe that Xil was actually going to sleep with this guy, that was Riddick's bed. Just because he had been gone three months didn't mean that he wasn't coming back. She knew he'd be back. . . and he'd be pissed. Pissed at Xil for not loving him anymore, and even more pissed at her for letting slime like Sweets sleep in his bed.  
  
Jack wasn't going to stand for it; she wasn't going to let Xil hurt Riddick like that. She couldn't stand seeing him hurt in any way, even though he hid his emotional pains well. She crept down the hallway and cracked the door to Riddick's room quietly. She poked her head inside and watched as Sweets and Xil made out on the bed. He was in Riddick's spot, on Riddick's side of the bed.  
  
"Sweets," Jack interrupted them. Sweets looked up at her. "You're on Riddick's side of the bed. I'm sure he wont appreciate coming home and having his sheets soaked with your stench."  
  
Sweets laughed at her. "You gotta be kidding me. He hasn't been here in I don't even know how long. And he isn't coming back like you keep saying everyday." He desperately hoped that Riddick would come back though, if he didn't then all this shit he was going through with Xil was a waste of time.  
  
Jack shook her head, folded her arms across her chest and clicked her tongue against her teeth.  
  
Xil was surprised at how alike Jack and Riddick had become in the time they had spent together. When Riddick had finished his work at the synagogue he'd come home and look after Jack while Xil worked. She had come home many nights to the sight of the two of them asleep together on the couch. And now she was finally seeing how close they were. It was. . . disturbing.  
  
Slowly jack drew her shiv, letting it gleam in the dim light that the three moons offered. "Get out of Riddick's bed."  
  
Sweets smiled. He watched her hold the shiv expertly as if it was an extension of her hand. He knew Riddick had trained her, and trained her well. He shifted off of the bed, leaned down and kissed Xil on the cheek. "I'll talk to you tomorrow. Give Jack some time to calm down before I come over again."  
  
Xil nodded and kissed him again before he stood up. He brushed past jack, almost daring her to take that shiv to his sweet spot and "X" him out right then and there.  
  
Instead, Jack let him pass, her eyes burning a hole into his back as he made his way down the dark hallway and left the house. When the door slammed behind him she turned to look back at Xil. They were both angry, Jack at Xil for letting another man anywhere near Riddick's bed or Riddick's "goods", and Xil with Jack for butting into an adult situation.  
  
"You have no right Jack! No right at all! Riddick isn't fucking coming back. I'm not going to put my life on hold and keep wishing and hoping for him to come back, Jack. You have to accept that he's—"  
  
"You have no right either! Letting that guy just waltz through our lives. You don't know him for shit, and I don't trust him. If you cared half as much about Riddick as I— as you say you did then you wouldn't be fucking doing this with this guy."  
  
Xil looked at her curiously, wondering what it was that she had almost said. She sighed then shook her head. "He's not coming back."  
  
"He is. Don't fucking hurt him like this Xil! Don't!"  
  
"Don't hurt him? What do you think he did to me? He hauls off and tells me he has feelings for me and then takes off! You don't think that hurt? Stop taking his side in everything for about two minutes and look at it from my perspective, see the way things really are." Xil rolled over and pulled the covers over her. Even though they had been washed many times and Riddick had been gone for months, they still smelled like him. Or maybe it was just her imagination. 


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10  
  
Jack sat in front of the viewing console to find something interesting to watch. "Next channel." The channel changed to some sort of cartoon, the one thing she hated most. "Next channel."  
  
"The body of Richard B. Riddick was recovered today from rubble left by a fire that raged through Herzegovina hotel yesterday. It has not yet been determined if the fire was an arson, or if Richard Riddick was killed by the blaze or if something else was the cause of his death. An autopsy has been scheduled for sometime later in the week. . ."  
  
Jack's heart felt as if it had been ripped from her chest. Riddick's prison photo was in the corner of the screen while the reporter went on about his death. She tried hard not to cry, Riddick wouldn't want her to. Anyone who cried was weak, but she couldn't help it.  
  
Xil came out of the kitchen, still clutching a dish towel. She had heard everything and didn't care about the tears spilling down her cheeks. She sat down on the couch next to Jack.  
  
"He cant be dead. He can't be. He. . ."  
  
Xil pulled Jack into a hug and held her tightly as she let her tears escaped her eyes. "He's in a better place now." She tried to comfort her. She needed to know Riddick was better off this way just as much as Jack did. He wouldn't have to run anymore. He could be at peace now.  
  
"No!" Jack struggled in Xil's arms. "He cant be. He . . . Something else happened, it had to have. He would have gotten out Xil, he would have."  
  
Xil shook her head, it didn't much matter how or what happened. All that mattered was Riddick was never going to walk through the front door again pissed off at the world, swearing under his breath about the heat, and tracking sand and dirt through the house with those large clunky boots he had refused to stop wearing. She had really wanted Jack to be right, as much as she told the girl that Riddick wasn't coming back, she had wanted him to.  
  
"What's going on here?"  
  
Jack and Xil had been so caught up in the news about Riddick that neither of them noticed when Sweets came in.  
  
"Like you would fucking care." Jack got up from the couch and went to her room, slamming the door behind her.  
  
Sweets looked at Xil, he could tell she was crying. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Riddick's dead." Xil gestured to the viewing console where the news lady was finishing up her story about Riddick's death.  
  
Sweets let his head lull to one side. Riddick couldn't be dead, he knew it wasn't possible. His brain raced for a moment and then a thought occurred to him. The moment he had been waiting for would be soon. Riddick was coming home. 


	11. Chapter 11 Flashback

Chapter 11  
Flashback  
  
Riddick stood in front of Jack's cryotube with his hands resting on either side of the glass. The young girl was pale with a slight yellow tint around her eyes that made Riddick worry. "Gonna have to get somewhere soon. Anywhere. She needs to eat something." He said when he heard Xil move into the doorway behind him.  
  
"New Mecca's a few days. It's the only place you'll be safe. The only thing around here is--"  
  
He shook his head and looked down at the floor. "Wouldn't care or not if I was safe, long as she's okay. The kid doesn't deserve something like this. Her body needs nutrients if its gonna heal." He turned around to face her. She had been awake since they had taken off from their little scrap with Peter Lawrence three days ago. "You could eat too. And sleep."  
  
Xil sighed, "I don't trust the autopilot enough to sleep Riddick."  
  
"I can pilot this piece of shit."  
  
"No you cant. You need rest more than I do." She approached him slowly and rubbed his back. "You okay?"  
  
He snorted at her. "Dandy." He rolled his shoulders and shook her hand off of his back.  
  
She rolled her eyes at his reply and left him alone with Jack.  
  
He could use some sleep. And something to eat. And some morphine to take away the constant aching in his side. A shame good ol' Johns isn't around anymore. He snaked his tongue out of his mouth and licked his chapped lips in attempt to wet them, but his tongue coming in contact with them only made it worse. His tongue felt like sand paper as it made contact with them, he withdrew it into his mouth and felt the cool air burn them. Something to drink would also be nice.  
  
He turned his attention back to Jack and away from his burning lips. "I'm gonna die of hunger or thirst or something before we even get to New Mecca kid." Jack was in a deep sleep and Riddick knew he might as well have been talking to himself. "I'll let you rest." He turned on his heals and joined Xil out in the cock pit.  
  
Xil studied him hard once he sat down in the copilots seat next to her. He had begun to take on much the same complexion as Jack, pale with a yellowish tint to his cheeks and she presumed around his eyes as well even though he kept them hidden behind his goggles. His black mesh tank was ripped in various places exposing his skin and the wound on his side.  
  
Riddick had his eyes closed behind his goggles and was resting his head on the back of the seat, but he knew she was watching him. "Like what you see?" He didn't bother to open his eyes.  
  
"Your side's bleeding again."  
  
"I'm aware." He nodded once before he slouched down in his seat and propped his booted feet up on the control console. "But hey, what are you gonna do? Almost outta bandages. I'm sure the kid's will need to be changed before we reach New Mecca. Save 'em for her."  
  
"I'm sure there's enough for both of you."  
  
Riddick waved a hand at her and folded his arms across his chest. "I'm fine." He tilted his head to the side and popped his neck before he allowed himself to sleep.  
  
Xil wasn't sure exactly how much time had passed since Riddick had dozed off. Hours? Maybe even days? Time was beginning to run together. She watched him closely, keeping an eye on his bleeding, and his breathing. The two never changed, both slow but steady.  
  
Riddick's eyes had opened behind his goggles ages ago, but he had no desire to move. "How long you just gonna stare at me like that?"  
  
Xil gasped. How long had he been awake? "How long have you been awake?"  
  
He shrugged his shoulders slightly. "Don't know. How long you been looking at me like that?"  
  
"Don't know."  
  
"We've even then." He unfolded his arms and stretched. His side felt like it was instantly set on fire. He relaxed. "Gonna check on the kid."  
  
Xil nodded and watched him walk off.  
  
Jack was still sound asleep in her tube, more pale than the last time he had checked on her. He knew if her body didn't get the nutrients it needed then she wouldn't make it. He pressed the release button on the outside of the tube and the door opened with a woosh. He reached up and plucked the waking Jack from inside.  
  
"What are you doing?" Xil was standing in the doorway watching him. She was very suspicious about his intentions as she watched Jack stir in his arms.  
  
"Get me one of them clean bandages will you?" He sat down on the metal grates of the floor and held Jack his lap. She was waking slowly and he knew it was because her body was weak.  
  
Xil didn't bother to question him further. She scurried off and returned quickly with what he had asked for. When she handed it to him, he folded it in half then sat it down across his leg. He held Jack in one arm and drew his shiv.  
  
"What are you doing?" Xil asked him again.  
  
He didn't answer her. He picked up the clean bandage and wiped his shiv on it to clean it. Then he sat his shiv on his pants and ran the bandage hard across his arm, trying to rub off all of the dirt he possibly could.  
  
"Riddick. . ."  
  
Riddick wadded the bandage up and threw it at Xil. "How 'bout you toss that in your mouth and keep yourself quiet for a few minutes?"  
  
Xil came and sat down on the floor not too far away from him. What the hell was he doing?  
  
He picked up his shiv in one hand held it against the opposite arm. He sliced through his flesh swiftly then tossed the shiv to the floor. He squeezed his new wound and blood trickled out slowly.  
  
Xil's stomach grew queasy when Riddick lifted his arm to Jack's mouth.  
  
Riddick was watching her as Jack semiconsciously sucked and drank the blood that was running from his arm. "Wasn't just gonna let her lay in there looking like this. She needed something. What else am I supposed to do?"  
  
She shook her head. What else was he supposed to do? She kept her eyes on him. He removed his goggles with his free hand and rubbed his eyes.  
  
He let Jack continue to drink from him until she seemed to have had enough, then he stood and attempted to get Jack back into her tube.  
  
Xil stood up too when his steps wavered. She put her hands on his hips to steady him. "You okay?"  
  
Riddick stayed still for a minute until the dizziness that had washed over him began to pass. Then he placed Jack back inside her tube and let the door close. He was still again. "Dizzy." He squeezed his eyes shut trying to let the little stars that had invaded his field of vision pass.  
  
When he opened his eyes again he found himself tucked into the cryotube next to Jack's. He pawed around for the release hatch for a moment before he found it and gave it a hard tug. He fell from the tube and onto the floor with a thud.  
  
Xil came to the doorway and leaned against it. She watched him roll over and get to his feet.  
  
"What the hell? You put me in there?"  
  
"You passed out. What was I supposed to do? You should be thanking me. It wasn't easy to lift two hundred pounds of dead weight."  
  
"Thanks." he replied half heartedly. He looked up at Jack then back at Xil. "How long I been out?"  
  
"You tell me." She gestured out of the windshield to the light tan colored planet they were approaching. New Mecca. 


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12  
  
Jack walked down the street heading towards home. She stopped when she noticed the red flag on the mailbox was up. They didn't usually get a lot of mail. She flipped the flag down, opened the mail box and stuck her hand inside. There was a single letter addressed to her with no return address. She opened it carefully and read it to herself.  
  
Happy Birthday Jack.  
  
She looked curiously at the smudgy pencil and decided that the letter was probably from Mr. Burton. It was nice of him to do that for her birthday even though she saw him everyday.  
  
She walked up the porch and noticed another slip of paper stuck in the door. She pulled it out and unfolded it.  
  
There's a surprise for you inside.  
  
Jack opened the door and went into the house. It was eerily quiet and suspiciously dark with the curtains drawn. She walked past the couch in the living room and was about to head into the hallway when she felt someone behind her. There was no sound, not even a creak as whatever was behind her moved across the wooden floor, coming closer to her. Her body tensed, she was almost afraid to turn around. She could smell him, a familiar smell. Dirt. Sweat. Old spice. A smile formed on her lips as he moved closer. She didn't flinch when she felt him touching her back, or his hand close around her neck, not quite tight enough to choke her. She laughed. "Gotta do a lot better than that to scare me Riddick."  
  
Riddick let her go and she whirled around, tackling him to the floor in huge hug. He winced a little when his head hit the floor. "Be gentle with me kid, I'm fragile."  
  
Jack hugged him tighter, her thin little arms squeezing the air out of his lungs.  
  
"Seriously kid, I'm like bruised fruit right now."  
  
She let him go a little and looked him over. He was serious, bruises covered his face and arms. "So who did this to you? Cant stay out of trouble anywhere you go, can you?" She rolled off of him and helped him up. "Come back lookin' like a bruised turd for my birthday."  
  
"Bruised turd? Kid, come on now." Riddick stood up and straightened his clothing. He looked at Jack, she'd grown. In a few ways. He chuckled lightly and reached over to her and patted her on the head. "Missed you like hell."  
  
Jack rolled her eyes at him. "Course you did."  
  
"Don't be mad. I'm here ain't I?"  
  
"Yeah, and I thought you were fucking dead Riddick. Do you know what that made me feel like inside. It was like my heart br--. . . You're all I got Riddick."  
  
"I'm sorry kid, but you got no idea how much the bounty on my head was. More money then I could even wrap my mind around. There were more mercs after me than I could even figure. I had to do something. Having everybody think I was dead bought me some time to get back here." He waited for her to say something, but she wouldn't even look at him.  
  
"Yeah, well you coulda at least written me a letter or something to let me know you were okay."  
  
"It's only been a few weeks Jack, the letter woulda gotten here slower than I did." He knelt in front of her and tipped her chin up to him, making her look at him. "Don't be like this Jack, I'm here now. I ain't going nowhere again. Staying here with you and Xil. My little psycho-fuck family."  
  
Jack grimaced. She had forgotten all about Xil for the moment. She had forgotten all about Sweets too.  
  
Riddick looked at her curiously. Apparently the mention of Xil had brought on a whole new mood for Jack. "What is it kid?"  
  
"You love her?" Jack wasn't sure if she really wanted to him answer this question. If he said no then he had bullshitted in the letter and had no real excuse for leaving, except for only caring about himself. If he said yes then he was in for a major heartbreak, and so was she.  
  
He wiped his chin with the back of his hand and thought for a moment before he shrugged, "Where's she at?"  
  
"She should be home soon." she couldn't tell him about Sweets, she couldn't be there when his usually steel heart turned to glass and was shattered.  
  
"Guess I got some prettying up to do then."  
  
"Yeah." she replied dryly and flopped down on the couch. This was going to be a bad day.  
  
Riddick heard the lack of enthusiasm in her voice, but ignored her. He pulled his shirt off over his head on his way to the bathroom.  
  
Jack listened as the water in the shower turned on. "Viewing console on." She could find something to watch instead of thinking about Riddick in the shower.  
  
Over an hour passed before Riddick made his way back into the living room. "So tell me honestly kid, you're a woman and all, so how do you think I look?"  
  
Jack turned around to look at Riddick. He stood behind the couch in a pair of black dress slacks and a white button down shirt with the top few buttons open, giving all who chose to look a nice view of his pecks. "You shaved that furry thing off your face." She pointed to the area where his goatee had once been.  
  
He stood uncomfortably in the clothes, as if he had never worn anything nice before. "So I look okay?"  
  
Jack nodded. He looked more than okay. "I'd do ya."  
  
Riddick chuckled as he sat down on the couch next to her. "You're too young to be thinkin' 'bout doin' anybody."  
  
"Hey now, I'm fifteen. And I never said I was thinking about doing anybody. I was just trying to tell you that you looked okay." Jack glared at him. Maybe the doing him comment was a little too much.  
  
"She gonna be home soon?"  
  
"Should be. Probably in a few--" Jack's words were cut short when the front door opened and Xil stepped inside carrying to large brown paper grocery bags that obstructed her view.  
  
"Jack! Can you come help me with these?" Xil struggled to close the door with one hand and balance the bags in the other.  
  
Jack was about to get up off of the couch to help Xil with the bags when Riddick's hand pulled her back down. He put a finger to his lips as he stood up quietly and walked lightly across the floor and over to Xil.  
  
"Help me put this food away. I don't have a lot of time before--" Xil gasped when one of the bags was taken from her and she saw Riddick standing in front of her.  
  
"Look like you seen a ghost." He smirked at her as he held the bag easily in one arm.  
  
She stood there looking at him for a moment before she attempted to say something. She opened her mouth and then closed it again. Then opened it again. "You're here." She reached a hand up to his face and touched his cheek.  
  
Riddick could feel Jack's eyes on them. "Scram kid, adult conversation, minding your business, that whole thing. Get outta here."  
  
Jack sighed and bounced off of the couch. "Course. Not like I cant figure out that she's gonna kiss you."  
  
Xil didn't even wait for Jack to fully disappear into her room before her lips were pressed firmly against Riddick's.  
  
He kissed her back for a second before he pulled away quickly. He sniffed her neck and down the collar of her shirt, then took a step back from her. He could smell someone else on her. A man. Someone familiar. He tilted his head to the side and stared hard at her. "You've been with someone else."  
  
"Did you just expect me to put my life on hold for you Riddick?" Xil brushed past him and went into the kitchen. She placed the bag down on the counter and started putting the food away. "I didn't know if you were coming back or not. Up until three minutes ago I thought you had died Riddick."  
  
Riddick brought the bag into the kitchen and set it down on the counter next to the other one. "Who is he?"  
  
"What's it matter?"  
  
"You don't have to tell me." He pressed himself against her, trapping her between him and the counter. He sniffed her again. "I can figure it out this way, it'll just take a little longer. Make you a little uncomfortable. Make you squirm."  
  
Xil tried to back away from him, her back pressing harder into the cold tile of the counter. "Knock it off Riddick."  
  
He continued to sniff her, down her neck to her breasts, then back up, then back down. "I know him, don't I? Who is he Xil?"  
  
"Riddick--"  
  
"I don't want to hear anything from you unless its his name." He lowered himself to his knees and ran his hands down her hips, keeping his face close to her shirt and inhaling deeply. "What's his name?"  
  
Xil sighed. "No games. Don't do this Riddick." She put her hands on Riddick's head to push him away, but he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her against him, the side of his head pressed against her belly.  
  
"No more games. I told you that before." He was still for a minute, feeling her breath go in and out of her lungs. "Where's he touched you, Xil? Hmm. . . Has he been inside you? Did he make you feel like I did?"  
  
"No."  
  
He moved his hands to the zipper on her jeans. "No what Xil? No he hasn't been inside you? Or no he didn't make you feel like I did?"  
  
"He didn't. He hasn't been. . . I haven't been with anyone, not since you."  
  
Riddick's face remained expressionless as he looked up at her. He knew she wanted him, the desire was written all over her face. "Oh really?" He slipped her jeans down over her hips, taking her underwear with them.  
  
"Don't Riddick." Xil's hands were clutching the edge of the counter so tightly that her knuckles were turning white. She knew she would end up giving in to him, but she had to fight it. . . at least a little bit longer.  
  
His tongue snaked out and he took a quick taste of her. She surprised him when she stepped out of her jeans for him and the smile returned to his face and his eyes gleamed at her. "Tasty." He flicked at her clit a few more times with his tongue before he attached his mouth to her, licking and sucking.  
  
Xil's hands found there way back to Riddick's head, encouraging him to keep going.  
  
He knew this wouldn't take long, she had been close from the second she had kissed him. He continued for a few more moments, gently nibbling, slurping, until he felt her legs give out underneath her. He held her tight at her hips until her orgasm subsided. Then he stood up and lifted her onto the counter, her hands still running lazily over the back of his head, his eyes locked on the floor.  
  
She hooked a finger in his shirt and pulled him between her legs. She could feel his cock twitch in his slacks as it brushed against her thigh, but his face showed no sign of arousal. He kept his eyes cast downwards and dropped his head onto her shoulder, facing away from her. She ran her hand down his head to his neck. "What is it? What's wrong?"  
  
He shook his head and swallowed hard before he answered her. "Nothing."  
  
Her hands left his neck and ran over his shoulders and down his chest. She felt him shudder as her hands dipped lower and cupped the bulge in his slacks. She unzipped his pants and let them fall around his ankles. He still didn't move anymore than to step out of them and kick them to the side.  
  
Xil was surprised when she touched him again, expecting to find the boxer-briefs she knew he wore, but instead her fingers brushed against his throbbing cock. She pulled her fingers back slowly and placed both of her palms on his chest.  
  
Riddick obediently took a step away from her. He lifted his hands to her shirt and pulled it over her head. He let the callused tips of his fingers caress her soft skin as she unbuttoned his shirt and let it slip over his shoulders. When he was completely free of his shirt she laced her fingers together behind his neck and pulled his back between her legs. His head again found itself on her neck, turned away from her.  
  
She ran her hands down his back and over his hips, going to his cock again. She scooted forward some on the counter and touched it to her slit. His body stiffened and he shuddered when she drew him into her.  
  
He didn't want it to be like this, not on a cold counter top. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her from the counter. She wrapped her legs around him and clung tightly to him as he carried her to the bedroom, his cock still buried insider her.  
  
Neither of them noticed Jack watching them through her partially cracked bedroom door. She watched as they passed her door and went into their bedroom. Riddick kicked the at their bedroom door lazily with his foot in a lame attempt to close it. It swung part way then stopped, half closed. Jack could still see them. She watched them move onto the bed.  
  
Riddick held Xil tightly at her waist, his fingers bruising the delicate skin on her hips. He buried his head in her breasts, thrusting and grunting. He didn't want to have to look at her, but he know that she was going to ask him to. She needed to know that he wasn't in the same place that he had been the first time he had been inside of her. Her fingers brushed against his scalp and he brought his eyes up to meet hers. There was good ol' Richard again. He didn't look away from her when her felt her clamp down hard around him or when he spilled himself deep inside of her.  
  
Jack was still watching when Riddick collapsed on top of Xil, shaking and panting like an animal. He closed his eyes and left his head on her breasts and his feet hanging off of the end of the bed.  
  
"I only came back because of you." Riddick told her. He rolled off of her and got up. He went to the dresser and pulled open one of the drawers. He expected to find his clothes, but the drawer was empty.  
  
"They're in the box over there. I. . ."  
  
He held up a hand at Xil to silence her. He didn't need her to explain why his clothes were all stuffed into a cardboard box in a corner of the room. He went over to the box and pulled out a pair of sweat pants and a wrinkled white shirt and slipped them on before he got back in bed. He laid on his stomach facing the window, staring at the three moons that he had surprisingly missed. "Goodnight." 


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13  
  
Riddick woke with a start. He had heard something. He sat up and scanned the room. His eyes came to rest on a figure near the door.  
  
"Well aren't you a big boy now?"  
  
Riddick blinked his eyes a few times before they adjusted and were able to focus on the man who had spoken to him. He shook his head, of all the people that could have possibly tracked him down. He reached over to the night stand for his shiv, he was going to kill him right then before he had the chance to get away. . . or to try anything. His hand pawed around on the cool surface of the wood for a moment, his shiv wasn't there. His shiv wasn't there because he was naked when he had come into the bedroom. His shiv was most likely in the kitchen, tucked away in his pants somewhere on the floor. Damn it.  
  
"Cat got your tongue Dick?"  
  
Riddick felt Xil stirring next to him. He placed a hand protectively on her shoulder.  
  
"Riddick. . ." She murmured sleepily when she felt his hand on her. She could tell just from the weight of it that something wasn't right. She sat up and squinted in the darkness. "What is it?"  
  
"Someone I should have ghosted a long time ago." He started to scoot her behind him protectively but stopped trying when she wouldn't budge. She could make out the man's features in the darkness.  
  
"You don't have to do that. I'm here for you, not for her. I haven't hurt her yet, have I? So why should I now? Especially when she's been such a big help to me."  
  
Riddick's fist clenched and his heart raced. Xil couldn't have possibly set him up. She thought he was dead up until a few hours ago, hadn't she? He removed his hand from her. "Fuck you."  
  
"Sweets, its not what you're thinking." Xil tried to explain the situation. "He was here and one thing lead to another and. . . I still care about him."  
  
Riddick stood up and took a few steps away from the bed so he could keep his eyes on both of them. "What the fuck is going on?" He could hear his heart pounding in his ears. Maybe she had set him up?  
  
"Riddick I. . ."  
  
He waved a hand at her to silence her. "He's the one I smelled on you. You let this bastard touch you? You let him put his fucking hands on you?!"  
  
"Still quick to loose that temper of yours Dick."  
  
Jack appeared in the doorway. "What the hell is with all the yelling? Lights full dim." The lights came on and she saw Sweets standing in a corner of the bedroom and Riddick standing in another. . . naked. "Fucking wonderful, Xil. Got your boyfriend and your. . . well Riddick in the same room fighting over you. Just great. And do you listen to me when I tell you he's coming back? No. Do you listen to me when I tell you not to hurt him? No. Does anybody listen to me at all? No." She slouched against the door frame and folded her arms across her chest.  
  
"Can it, kid"  
  
Jack didn't need Riddick to tell her twice, but something in his voice was different. She looked at him closely, examining his stance. He was ready to pounce.  
  
Xil could also tell that he was ready to spring at one of them, but which one? "Riddick, relax."  
  
"Yeah, Dick. Relax."  
  
"How many times are we gonna have to go through this Ernie? It's Riddick. Not Dick."  
  
Xil's mouth fell open in shock. Ernie. His name wasn't Sweets. It was Ernie. "Riddick, I didn't know. I swear I didn't know! He said his name was Sweets. I didn't know Riddick."  
  
Ernie laughed. "So Dick, how you been?" He moved over to the bed and sat down next to Xil. He placed his hand on her thigh.  
  
"You get your fuckin' hands off her."  
  
"What are you gonna do Dick?" Ernie cocked an eyebrow at him. "Gonna kill me?. . . You know, its really a shame that I ended up getting transferred before you got out of solitary. That must have been a long six months for you. All alone in the dark by yourself with those cuffs and chains, and that bit, it must have been most uncomfortable." He ran his fingers up Xil's thigh.  
  
"Small price. I get six months alone, two of your boys get buried six feet under. It was worth it. Just wish one of them coulda been you instead." Riddick spoke slowly. He hadn't cared less about the six months he had spent in solitary for killing two of Ernie's closet friends. They had deserved it. Each time Ernie had taken him in the shower, they had been right there, helping, taking turns with him. And the nights, nights were the worst.  
  
"Oh I'm sure you do. Everyone knew that Dickie. Everyone knew you were gunnin' for me. And now I'm gunnin' for you. I hear revenge is sweet. And I want a taste."  
  
Xil looked at Riddick. Ernie's hand had stopped running over her thigh and he seemed to have forgotten about her. She took the opportunity to try to run. As she slid off of the bed Ernie grabbed her ankle and held her in place. He reached his free hand inside his of jacket.  
  
Riddick was on the bed faster than Ernie could pull the gun from his pocket. He was on top of Xil, in Ernie's face. "I'm older, and I'm wiser now Ernie. You ain't fuckin' with the same Riddick anymore. Let her go."  
  
Ernie smiled slyly and shook his head. He continued to draw the gun from his pocket. "You're right. You're not the same Riddick. Nice eyes by the way. Oh, and, you got a little something on your face there." He gestured to the drool that was running from the side of Riddick's mouth with the barrel of the gun.  
  
Riddick raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice."  
  
"My choice, huh? Then I choose the hard way. . ." Ernie looked from Riddick to Jack. "Now who first. . ."  
  
Jack watched him pull the trigger then felt a little tiny prick at her shoulder.  
  
He repositioned his gun and fired again before Riddick had a chance to move, hitting Xil in the back of the leg. Riddick finally got his legs under him and tackled him down onto the bed. The gun went off again and he felt something stick him in the belly. He looked down at it. A little green dart was sticking out from his shirt. He plucked it out with his fingers and held it up to examine it. "What the. . ." His vision clouded and swirled and then he was out. 


	14. Chapter 14 Flashback

Chapter 14  
Flashback  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Burton sat on their front porch, rocking slowly back and forth in the set of old wooden rocking chairs. There wasn't much else for the old couple to do on such a lazy Saturday afternoon in the small town outside of the city. Or much that they wanted to do for that matter. They both exchanged curious glances when they caught sight of an odd looking pair in the distance.  
  
"They must be new 'round here." Mr. Burton decided aloud. His wife nodded in agreement. "What's that one got there in his arms?" He pointed at the large man that was walking along side of a very petit little woman.  
  
"Now you know I cant see much without my glasses. You're just going to have to wait until they get a little closer." Mrs. Burton continued to rock back and forth in her chair.  
  
When the pair got close to the house The Burtons could see that the man was carrying a small child in his arms. His feet dragged slowly down the dirt road, he stumbled but he kept on walking. His face was dirty and his eyes were hidden behind a pair of dark goggles. The woman who was walking next to him appeared to be just as weary and walked with a little limp.  
  
Mr. and Mrs. Burton exchanged glances as the pair began to pass. The man stumbled again and the child started to slip from his arms. He stopped and tried to regain his grip on the child. He was unsuccessful and they both came crashing down into the dirt.  
  
Mrs. Burton stood from her chair when the man didn't move. "Is he alright?" She called out to the young woman.  
  
She didn't answer.  
  
Mr. Burton stood too and stepped down off of the porch. He approached the strangers with a hint of caution. "You folks need some help?"  
  
The woman still didn't answer.  
  
Mr. Burton looked at the child, puzzled. Then he looked at the man, even more puzzled. He sighed. "Ruthy, come get this one here into the house." He pointed at the child as Mrs. Burton came down the steps. He knelt down next to the large man and inspected him before clicking his tongue against his teeth. "He's bleeding a lot. Looks a little dehydrated too." He looked at the woman again. "Want to help me get him the house or you just want me to leave him out here with you?"  
  
The woman shook her head and helped Mr. Burton get the man into the house. 


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15  
  
When Riddick awoke, his arms felt like they were being torn from his body. He opened his eyes then squeezed them shut again, trying to clear the blackness that swirled in front of them. He opened them again but still all he saw was black. He panicked inwardly, thoughts of being blind racing through his mind. He closed his eyes again. This time he felt his eyelashes brush against the fabric of the blindfold that was secured in place around his eyes. He relaxed and felt the tug on his arms grow as he did. He took a moment to concentrate on feeling each part of his body. It didn't take him long to realize that he was strung up by his wrists and there was a bit in his mouth. He was uncomfortable. Just as uncomfortable as he had been when Johns had him chained up in the Hunter-Gratzner. . . . . . . . . .  
  
"Xil!" He tried to yell out for her around the bit but only a muffled sound left his mouth. The bit dug into the insides of his cheeks. He sighed and let his body hang loosely from his wrists.  
  
"Riddick,"  
  
Riddick's head snapped up in the direction of the familiar voice calling his name.  
  
"You okay?" Xil asked.  
  
He nodded then took in everything he could hear and feel in the room. He turned his head back towards Xil and went to speak again, forgetting about the bit. A small trickle of blood escaped his mouth as the bit dug further into his cheeks.  
  
"You should stop trying to talk. We're fine."  
  
Riddick nodded to her and was still again for a second before he twisted his wrists to get a feel of the bindings that were keeping him strung up. They didn't feel anything like rope, but more like heavy chains. He kept his head turned to her, expecting more information. Could she see? He stilled himself, trying to figure out a way to communicate with her.  
  
She knew what he was thinking though. "I can see."  
  
His brow furrowed and he sniffed the air. He could smell someone else in the room with them.  
  
"Jack's here too." Xil twisted in her bindings, trying to get more comfortable. She was sitting on a cold cement floor with her hands tied behind her around some sort of support beam.  
  
Riddick heard a door open above him and someone descend down a few creaking steps.  
  
Ernie.  
  
Riddick heard him approach Xil.  
  
"How about you be a good girl and open wide for me?" Ernie slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a bronze bit. He inserted it into Xil's mouth and secured it there with a metal clasp behind her head.  
  
Ernie turned his attention to Riddick. "So. . . How about I get this blindfold off you and get a look at those eyes again." he reached up to Riddick's face and undid the blindfold.  
  
Riddick squeezed his eyes shut tight. The light in the room was too much for his delicate pupils.  
  
"Open 'em."  
  
Riddick shook his head. He couldn't explain to Ernie about the shine job, the damn bit was still in his mouth.  
  
"Come on Dick, you aren't really in the position to be uncooperative." He moved back over to Xil and ran his hand along her cheek.  
  
She squirmed away from him and tried to scream. The bit dug into her cheeks too, drawing blood as well. She ran her tongue over the deep cuts in her mouth and remember the thick scars she had felt on the inside of Riddick's cheeks when she had kissed him. She should have known then what they were from, he'd been bitted so many times before.  
  
"Do you wanna open those eyes now?"  
  
Riddick didn't know what Ernie was doing to cause Xil to scream like that. He debated his choices for a minute. He didn't like the way the tables had turned, especially so quickly. He had been more than sure that he had had control of the situation before, before he got shot with that damn little green dart. He heard Xil scream again and made his choice. He opened his eyes to a haze of purple swirls.  
  
"That's better."  
  
Riddick squinted hard, trying to make out a few shapes in the room, but he couldn't. The lights were too bright.  
  
Ernie shook his head and then backhanded him hard across the face. "Keep 'em open."  
  
Riddick's head snapped to the side and the bit dug and tore even further into his cheeks from the force of the blow. He opened his eyes again. He still couldn't see anything and a sharp pain was roaring in his head. The colors swirled from purple to pink to a painful bright white.  
  
Ernie inspected his eyes. "Looks like somebody got a bad shine job." He decided with a laugh. "Light too bright for you? I can turn it off?"  
  
Xil watched as Riddick let his head hang against his chest. It had been a perfectly good shine job before Peter had gotten him with that tamer. It had been a beautiful shine job.  
  
Ernie saw another trickle of blood escape Riddick's mouth and run down his chin. He lifted his hands to the back of Riddick's head and unfastened the bit.  
  
"Jack," Riddick called out to Jack as soon as he felt the bit slide from his mouth. "Jack, you okay kid?"  
  
There was no reply.  
  
"Take the bit out her mouth."  
  
Ernie shook his head and laughed at Riddick's 'request'. "She doesn't have one."  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
"Payback can be oh so sweet. But you know that already, don't you Dick?" Ernie walked over to where Jack lay motionless on the floor and looked her over.  
  
"You want revenge? I ain't done shit to you!" Riddick closed his eyes again and let his chin rest back against his chest. He could feel the mixture of blood and saliva running down his chin and onto his chest, but he didn't care.  
  
"You killed two of my friends, Dick. I know I was the one you were after though. I know you did it just to get to me." Ernie moved away from Jack and back over to Riddick. "You're the one I'm after Dick, but I'm going to take two of your friends too. . . Before you of course."  
  
Riddick kept his features relaxed and his tone level. "I never got you. Wish I had, but I didn't. so you can't ghost me. Take them though, I don't care. Then we'll be even." He wasn't serious, but he needed to buy some time to figure out a way out of those chains.  
  
"Lights to dim." Ernie dimmed the lights. "I want you to see this." 


	16. Chapter 16 Flachback

Chapter 16  
Flashback  
  
Riddick stirred slightly on the floral print couch before woke fully, keeping his eyes closed. He knew the light in the room was much too bright for him. He brought his hand to his side and felt around. The bandages had been changed and he could tell that he was no longer bleeding. He brought his other hand up to his face and rubbed his eyes.  
  
"I see you're awake. Your wife's in the kitchen having something to eat. You should get some food in you too."  
  
Riddick turned his head towards the voice that spoke to him. A woman. An older woman. He wanted to open his eyes and look around, see where he was, but he couldn't. He knew it wasn't an overhead light, it had to be natural light, sunlight. He cleared his throat before asking, "Could you close those curtains, lady?"  
  
"Of course." The old woman drew the curtains.  
  
Riddick rubbed his eyes again and then squinted at her.  
  
"You must have had a rough day. If you want to wash up then the bathroom's just down the hall there." She pointed down the hall towards the bathroom.  
  
"Where's Xil? My wife, where is she?" He shook his head, referring to Xil as his wife wasn't something he planned to do anymore often than he had to.  
  
"She's in the kitchen having something to eat. There's enough in there for you too."  
  
Riddick got up from the couch and made his way to the kitchen. Xil was sitting at the table eating a plate of something that looked like spaghetti. He pulled out a chair across from her, sat down, and squinted harder. "What the hell is going on?"  
  
"You passed out outside. The people who live here brought you in." Xil explained. She reached into her pocket and pulled out Riddick's goggles. She handed them to him.  
  
He put them on and let his eyes adjust and his head clear. He was quiet for a moment before something dawned on him. "Jack. Where is she?"  
  
Xil shook her head, "Mr. Burton's taking a look at her. I think she's still out. She's weak."  
  
He stood up and tucked his chair and turned to leave the kitchen, he was off to find Jack.  
  
"Riddick, wait. Just sit down for a little bit. You're not--"  
  
He turned around and looked at her, then sat back down. She was worried. About him. "I'm fine."  
  
"You're just as bad off as she is, Riddick. What is it with you? You cant be in pain or take a break? You look like shit and I'm sure you feel that way too. Knock off the 'Big Evil' charade and just be a person Riddick."  
  
He chuckled and gave her a sarcastic applause. "Nice speech. Almost as good as the one you gave me when I was going to leave your ass on that planet." A smirk crossed his lips and his eyes danced behind his goggles. "Funny thing is, there's no charade. I am Big Evil." He stood up again. He picked up her glass of water and downed it before he pushed his chair in and left the kitchen. He brushed past Mrs. Burton in the doorway and heard a quiet 'oh dear' escape her as he wandered down the hallway in search of Jack.  
  
A door opened and an old man stepped into the hall. He looked at Riddick and was surprised at how much bigger and more dangerous he seemed now that he wasn't passed out in the street outside of the house. "You must be looking for Jackie."  
  
Riddick nodded.  
  
"She's right in here." Mr. Burton gestured to the room he had just come out of. "She's sleeping. When she wakes up we'll see if we can get some food in her."  
  
Riddick brushed past him. He was suspicious of the couples kindness. He rubbed his hand over the stubble on his head.  
  
It was hours before Jack opened her eyes and saw Riddick crouched down in a corner of the dark room she found herself in. "Where am I?"  
  
He stood up and approached her. "If I knew I'd tell you. For the first time in a while, I don't know much, kid. I woke up on some old ass flowery sofa with a wife and kid."  
  
Jack looked confused. "Where's Xil?"  
  
"Scarfing down some food the old bat made her. Some old lady who lives here's convinced she needed to eat."  
  
"What happened? Are you okay?" Everything that had happened started flooding back to her.  
  
"Fine." Riddick sat on the edge of the bed took off his goggles so he could see her better.  
  
"You look like shit."  
  
He snorted at her. "You ain't no beauty queen yourself kid."  
  
"Well I feel like shit."  
  
"You got shot, what do you expect? I hear it don't feel like being tickled with feathers."  
  
Jack sighed. The last thing she remembered was having that gauge leveled with Peter's head and Riddick trying to talk her down. "Where?" She could feel a dull throbbing throughout her whole body and wasn't exactly sure where she had been hit.  
  
Riddick lifted the thin sheet off of her body and placed his hand gently on her side. "I'm sorry. Was my fault. I got careless."  
  
Jack remembered now. Peter had tried to make a move for the gun and they fumbled it and dropped it. "Wasn't your fault." She sighed again and looked at his shirt, still stained with blood and vomit. "You really okay?"  
  
"Alive." He rubbed his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. Big Evil needed some sleep too. "Tired, but alive." He swung his legs onto the bed and laid down, with his fingers laced together behind his head.  
  
Jack ran her hand over her neatly bandaged side. She wondered if when she was less tired she would be able to feel the pain more, or if the dull throbbing was as bad as it was going to be. She opened her mouth to say something but decided against it. She scooted closer to Riddick and laid her head on his shoulder.  
  
Riddick looked down at her with his face twisted into an unreadable expression. He hesitantly removed one of his arms from behind his head and put it around her. "I really am sorry Jack."  
  
She yawned, "I told you, it wasn't your fault." she mumbled.  
  
Riddick sighed. She could tell him that as many times as she wanted, but he knew that it was. "I ain't gonna let no one hurt you again, kid." He was going to protect Jack with his life no matter what. 


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17  
  
Riddick blinked a few times to clear his vision. He could make out Jack's form in the corner, stirring slightly. Her eyes opened and she focused on him.  
  
Jack didn't move any further when she saw Riddick hanging by his wrists from a beam that ran across the ceiling. She kept sill and was silent.  
  
Riddick nodded at her. She knew not to move and not to make a sound. He looked up at the chains on his wrists, then back at Jack. He licked his lips and a smile spread across his face. "Distract him." He mouthed to her.  
  
Jack raised an eyebrow at him, but remained still and silent other than that. She wasn't exactly sure what was going on, but waking up on a cold cement floor and seeing Riddick chained up across the room immediately screamed bad situation. She scanned the room and her eyes locked on Ernie.  
  
"I haven't exactly decided what I'm going to do with her yet, how I'm going to kill her." Ernie knelt down beside Xil and pulled something from the belt on his pants. Riddick's shiv. He looked it over in the dim light, then pressed it to Xil's chest.  
  
"Don't kill her quickly." Riddick offered a suggestion. "Torture her, make it slow and painful. Cut off each of her fingers, then each of her toes. Make her squirm."  
  
Ernie looked at him then back to Xil. It gave Riddick enough time to cast his eyes in Jack's direction.  
  
She knew she had to act now, but she wasn't exactly sure what Riddick had meant by distract him. Jump up and down flapping her arms and pray he acknowledged her? No, it had to be more. . . distracting. She stood up as quietly as possible and ran towards Ernie. When she was close enough she flung herself at him, knocking the shiv out of his hand and tackling him to cement floor.  
  
Riddick used all his strength and swung his legs up around the beam, he held himself like that until he got the chains from around his wrists. Jack's over the top 'distraction' hadn't been exactly what he was looking for, but it gave him the time he needed. He dropped to the floor and yanked Jack off of Ernie by the collar of her shirt and shoved her across the room, then pinned Ernie to floor. "Guess maybe I'll get you after all?" He grabbed a fist full of Ernie's hair and drove his head down into the cement.  
  
Jack stood up and brushed herself off. "You have to be so rough with me? I'm on your team." She came over and inspected what Riddick had made of Ernie. "Glad I'm on your team." she mumbled.  
  
Riddick nodded towards Xil, "Get her untied. Get the hell out of here." He waited for Jack to move, then searched the floor for his shiv. He caught sight of it in a corner and massaged his wrists as he made his way over to it.  
  
"Riddi--" Jack barely had a chance to open her mouth before Ernie was back up and on his feet, clamping his hand over it.  
  
Riddick scooped up his shiv and whirled around in time to see Ernie grab hold of Jack.  
  
"I'll snap her neck, if you move, I swear it Dick." He held tight to Jack with one hand around her neck and the other holding her chin.  
  
Riddick shook his head and tucked his shiv away. "You are a piece of work Ernie. Not a quitter, though I don't quit understand this."  
  
Ernie looked down at Jack then over to Xil, then back to Riddick. "There's not much to understand. Getting even is what this is about."  
  
"You think I care about these people?" Riddick chuckled and took a step closer to him. He tilted his head at Jack "I could give a shit less, especially about her. So if you want to make this your revenge, go ahead." he shrugged his shoulders and then turned to leave.  
  
Jack's brow creased. "You shit! Why are you like this?" She attempted to tear away from Ernie to pummel her fists into Riddick's back, but he kept a firm hold on her.  
  
Riddick shrugged. A small smirk spread across his face and he turned back to face her. He stepped towards them and his smirk broadened into a full smile. "Thought you knew me, kid." He started as Ernie visibly loosed his grasp on Jack's neck and chin. "You don't want to meet your maker any time soon, hmm?"  
  
"What's it matter to you anyway? Just go then, let him fuckin' kill us."  
  
Riddick shrugged again and started to leave. He kept his eyes forward and cast his words casually over his shoulder. "Kid, if you mattered to me, I'd tell you to watch out before you got a shiv in your chest."  
  
It was only a second after the words left his mouth that Jack saw the shimmer of light against the blade of Riddick's shiv flying towards her. She used all of her strength to wrench herself out of Ernie's grasp and dive recklessly out of the way.  
  
Ernie was just as quick, and considerably more agile. He moved to the side and let the shiv clang against the wall before he sprung at Riddick, knocking him to the floor.  
  
The two men wrestled back and fourth as Jack scrambled across the room to Xil. She undid her bindings as fast as she could get her hands to work.  
  
"Jack get outta here!" Xil gave Jack a hard push in the directions of the stairs.  
  
"Get his shiv, Xil." Jack didn't hesitate in making her way up the stairs, she bolted through the door and let it slam behind her.  
  
Xil ran for the shiv and was nearly there when a loud crashing halted her movements. She turned as Riddick slumped into a heap on the floor in clutter filled corner. Ernie collected himself off of the floor. He eyed the shiv not too far away and Xil's slowed movements gave him just enough time to make a quick dash for it. He ran hard and swooped up the shiv just as Xil's hand came to pick it up.  
  
"This wasn't exactly what I had in mind," He grinned at her and licked his lips. "But I must say, it'll do." 


	18. Chaoter 18

Chapter 18  
  
Jack pressed her ear to the door to try to hear what was going on. It had been more than a few minutes since the last audible noise had been made and still no one had opened the door. She sat for a minute longer before curiosity got the best of her and she started to open it herself. But before she could get her hand on the door knob, the door flew open and she was pinned behind it.  
  
"Jack!"  
  
"I'm behind here you big lug." Jack stretched her arm out from behind the door and felt Riddick grab hold of it with one strong hand wrapping around her tiny wrist.  
  
He stepped out of the doorway and let the door begin to close as he pulled Jack in front of it. "Go to Mr. Burton's. Tell him to get over here." Riddick saw the hesitancy in Jack's movements as she looked him over and gave her a shove to get her going. "Now, kid, go."  
  
Jack's feet kicked in before her mind did and she was off. She ran out of the house and across the street to the Burton's.  
  
She burst into the inside, "Mr. Burton! You home, Mr. Burton?" She yelled.  
  
Mr. Burton poked his head out of the kitchen. "I'm in here, Jack. Whatcha need?"  
  
Jack tried to explain. "Riddick, she started. "Next door, bleeding like fuck." She bent over with her hands resting on her knees, and took a deep breath.  
  
"Next door?"  
  
"Don't have time to explain, need your help." She panted  
  
He nodded and wiped his hands off on a dish towel, then grabbed some things from the cupboard. "What happened?"  
  
Jack shook her head, "Dunno, got sent upstairs."  
  
Mr. Burton nodded and left the house. Jack was close on his heels by the time he made it across the street and into Sweets' house. "Where's he at?"  
  
"Basement." 


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19  
  
Riddick didn't look up as Jack and Mr. Burton crept onto the small landing.  
  
Jack sighed heavily and shook her head as her eyes skimmed over Ernie's lifeless body near the foot of the stairs and she and Mr. Burton made their way over to Riddick. He sitting on the cement floor with his back towards them. And as Jack made her way down the stairs and stepped over Ernie's body she saw Xil cradled in his arms. "Riddick," she started as she got closer to him and took a better look.  
  
He looked up at her then shook his head to silence her.  
  
At the sight of his tear stained face she felt a lump rise in her throat and something inside her chest erupt with a fiery pain. She remained silent for a moment before turning and going back up the stairs. She stood in the doorway with Mr. Burton and watched as Riddick looked back down at Xil's body and another silent tear ran down his face. "I'll see you at home I guess." She said as they slipped out the door and closed it softly behind them.  
  
Riddick squeezed his eyes shut, forbidding anymore tears to fall. When he opened then again he lifted his hand up to Xil's face, brushed a few stray hairs off of her forehead and wiped a small splatter of blood from her check. "Didn't want things to end this way. Didn't want things to end between us at all." He paused and took a deep breath as he pulled her closer to him. "Never thought I could feel this way about someone. Care about someone like I care about you. Fucked it up. You protected me and I fucked it up." Riddick felt his heart twist behind his ribs and his bottom lip quivered as he tried desperately to hold back his tears. "I'm scared you didn't know what you mean to me. I know I wasn't here to show it. I just hope last night did. I'm sorry, I'm sorry for this. For things ending like this. I love you Xil." He placed a soft kiss on her lips then let her body sick back down onto the floor.  
  
He stood up slowly and rubbed his hand over the stubble on his face, then looked down at his shirt. Xil's blood stained a large portion near his chest. He shook his head at the sight and left without looking back. 


End file.
